What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
On the third flight of the day, the pilot performed a preflight inspection and before takeoff runup. The pilot stated takeoff acceleration was normal with 10 degrees of flaps.
Upon rotation and flap retraction, the pilot noticed a performance degradation. 10 degrees of flaps were again selected; however, altitude could not be maintained even with the engine appearing to develop normal RPM. The pilot decided to perform an emergency landing in a pasture and hit a fence during landing.
Investigation revealed the rear exhaust muffler was approximately 90 % restricted due to internal flame tube failure.
As the FAA filed it
ON THE THIRD FLIGHT OF THE DAY, THE PILOT PERFORMED A PREFLIGHT INSPECTION AND BEFORE TAKEOFF RUNUP. THE PILOT STATED TAKEOFF ACCELERATION WAS NORMAL WITH 10 DEGREES OF FLAPS.
UPON ROTATION AND FLAP RETRACTION, THE PILOT NOTICED A PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION. 10 DEGREES OF FLAPS WERE AGAIN SELECTED; HOWEVER, ALTITUDE COULD NOT BE MAINTAINED EVEN WITH THE ENGINE APPEARING TO DEVELOP NORMAL RPM. THE PILOT DECIDED TO PERFORM AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A PASTURE AND HIT A FENCE DURING LANDING.
INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE REAR EXHAUST MUFFLER WAS APPROXIMATELY 90 % RESTRICTED DUE TO INTERNAL FLAME TUBE FAILURE.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.